


Death of a McCormick

by Wolfgirl19



Series: Life of Liam: A South Park One Shot Series [6]
Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe-New Kid Is a Mutant, And Cartman once again is a jerk, Because of the Teen Rating, Gen, Immortality sucks, Kenny describes the source of his immortality, Kenny dies in this, Mentions of Season 14 Episode 12 "Mysterion Rises", Mild Blood, Mr. Garrison is only mentioned, New Kid uses sign language, New Kid's parents canon names are used, Nightmares, No over the top blood, Reactions to Death, Surreal Nightmare Sequence, Wingfic, coarse language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28345113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfgirl19/pseuds/Wolfgirl19
Summary: In Part 6 of this series, Liam has a surreal nightmare of Kenny's death, only to learn that no one remembers except him. He gets his answers from an alive and well Kenny, who reveals his own weird ability to Liam.
Relationships: Kenny McCormick & New Kid | Douchebag
Series: Life of Liam: A South Park One Shot Series [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042968
Kudos: 6





	Death of a McCormick

**Author's Note:**

> And we're back from the Christmas hiatus! Hope you guys enjoy Part 6!

Liam had nightmares about earlier that day.

It was just like any normal Monday at South Park elementary, but it was special because it was Mason's first day of being in an actual school. From his first taste of Mr. Garrison's celebrity rants throwing the current lesson off track, to being introduced to the rest of the guys Liam knew from playing their Stick of Truth game last year. Everything was fine and well. Until it happened.

It was at the end of the day, where all of the children ran out of the yellow school building to catch the school bus and go home. Liam and Mason were the last two to exit, and as such, missed the bus. They ran after it when it suddenly stopped, the sound of screeching brakes accompanied by muffled screams. Liam and Mason ran to see what caused the bus to stop, both dropping their jaws when they saw it.

Kenny. Lying face down in the street, a small pool of blood around his head, forming from the blood dripping off the blonde locks of hair poking out of his parka hood. Liam remained frozen in place at the sight of his friend's corpse, wide eyed and unresponsive to the world around him. He couldn't feel Mason trying to drag him away from the distressing sight. He barely saw the other kids flood out of the bus to see Kenny's corpse like it was some sort of spectacle. And he could faintly hear Stan and Kyle shouting,

"Oh my god! They killed Kenny!"

"You bastards!"

Liam's vison was starting to blur, the color of the world around him transforming into a dark, depressing grey, everything slowing down, people going still as statues. Liam tried to run from the sudden change of his surroundings, but his legs weren't responding to his panicked brain signaling them to run as the blurring became more warped, the world getting more grey every second. Liam was now trapped in place, to only stare at his dead friend as the world continued its transition to a colorless, blurred landscape, the only thing he was able to see clearly was Kenny wearing his orange parka and the pool of his crimson red blood. Liam wanted to shout, wanted to cry, wanted to run up to his friend's corpse and mourn him, but his frozen body wouldn't allow him, not letting him move or feel anything besides the horror, anxiety, and sorrow of seeing your friend dead in front of you.

Liam then felt something else. It was the feeling of being shaken, like someone trying to wake him up from a bad dream. The shaking continued as the world fell apart, the sky cracking and falling down like glass, the ground rumbling and splitting into pieces, giving way to a dark abyss below, Liam falling into the darkness. He closed his eyes tight, praying for his predicament to end. He slowly opened them when he felt his back laying on a mattress, seeing a fully dressed Mason shaking him awake, concern on his face. Mason stopped once he saw Liam was fully awake, Liam taking a few deep breathes before sitting up on his bed and putting on his glasses from the nightstand next to him. He felt tears dry up on his cheeks.

"I'm glad you're awake," Mason signed. "I was gonna fetch you to get ready for school, but saw you were crying and breathing rapidly in your sleep and tried waking you up."

"You did a good job then," Liam replied. "Because I was having one hell of a nightmare."

"About what?"

"About Kenny, and how he died yesterday. I was standing there, trapped in place, the world turning grey and blurry, tearing apart, the only thing I could do was stare at his dead body before the ground below me went to pieces and dropped me into an abyss."

"Wow, it was that scary?"

"You bet."

"But why did you say Kenny died yesterday?"

Liam was taken aback. "Wait? You don't remember?"

"Remember? All I remember was the grand tour of the school you gave me, playing on the playground, and listening to Mr. Garrison rant about the Kardashians or something instead of our math lesson."

"What do you remember about Kenny, though?"

"I recall we had a good lunch with him and the others, and that I gave him one of my mandarin oranges, but otherwise that's it."

"You mean, you don't remember him getting hit by the bus and dying?"

Mason shook his head. "Liam, I'm sure it was only a nightmare."

"Liam! Mason!" Kelly yelled from downstairs. "You'll both be late for the bus if you don't come down here!"

"You go on, Mason. I need to get dressed."

Mason nodded and went out of the room for Liam to change, Liam questioning to himself how Mason could just forget Kenny's death so easily, acting like it never even happened. After he quickly put on his usual outfit of a white shirt, blue jeans, his favorite black sweatshirt, and cleaning off his blue glasses, he ran downstairs, entering the kitchen to gobble down a piece of toast and met Mason outside, the two of them walking down the front doorsteps. That's when Liam saw him.

Kenny. Walking up to him, no bleeding or other signs of being hit by a large vehicle, alive and well. Liam felt his body freeze in place like in his nightmare, barely hearing Kenny's muffled greeting, a side effect from the shock of seeing a dead kid walking.

"Kenny?" Liam signed with his shaking hands. "You're...alive?"

Kenny looked at him with surprise.

"You...remember?"

"Of course I do! How are you even alive, talking to me right now on these steps?"

Kenny made sure no one was watching them before whispering,

"I'll tell you on the way to the bus stop."

Kenny and Liam walked side by side, Liam signaling Mason to give them space to talk, which he did.

"Now this may sound insane, Liam, but like you, I'm not completely human either."

"You're a mutant? If so, you could've told me the day I fell off your roof and accidentally revealed my wings to you and your siblings."

"Not exactly. Quite different from a mutation. You see...I'm an immortal."

"Immortal?" Liam asked.

"Yes. That means I'm a being who can't die. Every time I do die, I'm reborn the next day, no one remembering what happened to me."

"But how did you get your immortality without the need for a mutation? Since my abilities were the result of gene editing before I was born."

"For that, my parents were part of a cult."

"They were what?" Liam signed, looking at Kenny flabbergasted.

"Members of a cult for the eldritch abomination Cthulhu. When I confronted them about it one day, they told me they joined for the free beer, being alcoholics after all, and left when I was born, but anything else I ask from them, like what happened in the cult before and after I was born, and if those meetings were related to my birth, they claim they don't remember. Whatever happened during those meetings has made me what I am today: unable to die and nobody remembering my gruesome deaths. Except for you."

"But why me, though? Out of all people to remember your deaths, why must it be me, a mutant trying to blend in with normal humans in some redneck Colorado town?"

"I'm not really sure either. I guess this universe works in mysterious ways."

"And does that cult come looking for you on occasion? Like, do they want to capture you for experimentation or exploitation like how I have to hide from those who cut up mutants or exploit mutant abilities?"

"So far no. I mean at one point they did want me dead because Cthulhu ordered it, obviously failing to kill me because of the immortality, but otherwise they let me be."

The bus stop was just ahead, Cartman, Kyle, and Stan in their usual spots waiting for the bus.

"Anything else you wanna ask before we meet up with the rest of the guys?"

"I do have one final question," Liam began. "Does it hurt when you die?"

"You bet. What sucks about this power is that I have to feel everything as I die. From my bones getting crushed, to my body spazzing and twitching, to the feel of a sharp object cutting my flesh, to my head pounding to the point I lose awareness of my surroundings. And do you want to know what it's like to be stabbed in the chest? Shot in the head? Torn apart? Set on fire? Run over? Blown up?"

Liam shook his head.

"That's what I thought. I'm glad you at least didn't ask if my immortality is cool, because in reality, it actually sucks. I mean, who even wants this power if all it does is cause you never ending pain and agony every time you die? Whoever said immortality is awesome must've been a fucking moron."

Liam nodded in agreement, processing what Kenny told him, pitying Kenny for being the one blessed with a painful, torturous power.

"And this may sound weird Liam, but I saw your reaction to my death yesterday."

"You did?"

"Before rebirth, my soul somehow observes the world for a period of time without interacting with it, unless I get sent to heaven or hell for a day, and that's a rare occurrence. I saw how you were frozen in place, unable to express any emotion, unresponsive to Mason doing his best to drag you away from the sight of my body lying dead on the street."

"I didn't know how to react. That was probably the first time I've seen death for myself. It even gave me a hellish nightmare."

"It did?"

"Yeah, I was stuck in place, unable to move as the world turned into a blurred grey and fell apart around me, the finale being me falling into a dark abyss once the earth below my feet crumbled. Mason shook me awake since he saw me crying and breathing rapidly, looking concerned at my distressed state."

"Did he remember my death?" Kenny asked the moment he mentioned Mason.

"No."

"Like everyone else then. And I'm sorry that my death gave you nightmares."

"Don't, Kenny. It's not your fault that your death gave me nightmares. My brain just likely processed the trauma of seeing you dead in the worst possible way. Then again, my brain does like to torture me over traumatizing events sometimes."

"Ouch. How about for my sake and for the sake of your mental health you try looking away every time I die, okay?"

"Okay. I'll try."

They arrived to the bus stop, ending their conversation in time for Stan to notice them.

"Hey guys," Stan greeted.

"Hey," Kenny muffled.

"What's up?" Liam signed, only to realize something. "And where's Mason?"

Turning around, Liam saw Mason was walking far behind him, apparently taking Liam's request to give him and Kenny space too seriously. Liam gestured him to catch up, Mason running to stand next to him at the bus stop.

"Geez, Douchebag, your new friend sure isn't the smartest," Cartman said insultingly.

"Shut it, fat-ass," Liam signed.

"Hey! Don't call me fat, you fucking asshole!"

"Shut your mouth, Cartman!" Kyle yelled.

"Oh, now the Jew is stepping up to defend the douchebag."

"Don't you call me a Jew!"

All three began arguing with each other, Stan, Kenny, and Mason standing back to enjoy the show as they waited for the bus to arrive, which it eventually did. As they got on and took their seats, Liam and Mason ensuring to sit as far from Cartman as possible, Liam looked out the bus window, thinking of how he and Mason weren't the only kids in town with weird abilities anymore now that he learned of Kenny's immortality. Liam hoped Kenny wouldn't have to suffer anymore deaths while he's around, since he remembered what Kenny said about the biggest downside to immortality: it sucks.


End file.
